2012 MLB Roto Champions
Our 7th in 12 years

See our actual 2012 Draft and trades on the Draft Page.
As a hitting instructor, and coach, I learn something every season. So.. here's the deal: Learn to master your 2013 fantasy baseball season.. build a championship team.. and have some fun joking around in the Dugout. Get our Breakouts & Sleepers for 2013. You'll be ready to extract maximum potential from your draft.

Our experience allows us to look at a hitter's approach.. in the batter's box.. against top pitchers.. and offer an appraisal of that player's near term potential. Have they mastered the performance process? If so.. the results will follow. For pitchers.. the same question applies when confronting the top hitters in MLB. Our approach is best suited for 5x5 and 6x6 rotisserie leagues. Head to Head with playoffs added, reduces the great baseball played over a 162 game season.. to a weekly lotto pick. That's not our style.

Bottom line: The best way to pick players who perform is to know what the process looks like. We've been training hitters and pitchers for 15 years. It's a lot of fun. One benefit of this experience is that we spot breakout players before the stats are compiled. When coaching.. after spring practice begins I RARELY look at Stats. I know who's taking good swings.. at good pitches.. and who's centering the ball before the game even starts. Our Top 10 Breakouts & Sleepers will give you an edge. We want that information. This is necessary if you want to compete for your 2012 Fantasy Baseball league title. That's the winning formula for us. And we compete to win.. every year.

Until the season starts.. here are a few performance indicators to watch.

Hitters:

• Excessive bat wrap: Head of the bat wrapped behind the head makes a long swing. See Justin Upton trying to swing for home runs. He's about to slump, badly.
• Head movement: keep it quiet during the swing. Watch almost any pitcher hit. ;)
• Leak: a hitter's movement away/off of a vertical axis after pitcher's release point. The classic pull hitter: Mark Reynolds and Josh Willingham come to mind.
• Plate Discipline: Does the hitter swing at too many pitches off the plate? One of the all-time slider suckers: Mike Cameron.
• Hit Chart: Look at it. See if your prospect has gap power to the opposite field.

Pitchers:

• Can he/will he .. pitch inside effectively.. off the plate? This is precisely how Greg Maddox and Tom Glavine pitched so effectively with below average velocity.
• Stay on top! Fingers stay on the back of vs.. the side of the ball. Fausta Carmona's downfall..  he get's on the side of the ball and his sink flattens out.
• Up & down: Watch for merry-go-round vs. up/down Ferris wheel throwing motion. Fausta again.. and the mystery named Burnett.
• Stay back: see the delivery get extended with arm position near the power position. See the Arizona's Putz pitch!
• Leading hip: Chest out front pulling shoulders down to hip level vs. a high upright finish.

We'll refer to these leading performance indicators as the season progresses.

A hitter's ability to keep his head & eyes quiet.. body in balance around a vertical axis.. while creating separation and torque from bottom half pre-rotation into top half launch.. generates optimal bat speed. All critical elements. But his swing plane, path and timing movement.. or load.. tells the tale of near term batting average and power. These swing elements must be seamlessly integrated with plate coverage and a laser command of the strike zone. Only then does a major league player have an optimized hitting approach. We've seen this process at work for years. We'll put that same training and expertise into your 2012 Draft and Weekly Roster Reports right along with our team. Of course.. you make all the final decisions. You're the GM!

Good Luck in 2012
J Cabo